Meal

When parents go online to pay for their child's school lunches for the first time this fall, they will find a little different look to the website. Clark County Public Schools switched its online pay provider from eFund, which it has used the past few years, to mySchoolBucks to provide more security and options for parents, said Nutrition Services Director Becky Lowry. “Basically, our Lunchbox Program decided to go with this company because it offers a much more secure online site as far as parents' personal information,” Lowry said.

The Winchester Board of Commissioners Monday approved a draft budget for fiscal year 2012-13, which projects a general fund cash balance of about $1.6 million at the end of the fiscal year and total revenues of about $15.1 million. Commissioners cut some funding to outside agencies, but increased funding to others. Most notably, they voted unanimously to increase funding to Clark County Aging Services from $32,600 to $40,900 to provide the home meal delivery program to half of those currently on a waiting list.

To raise money for United Way, central office staff for the Danville school system will be dishing up New Orleans-style red beans and rice 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday. The chefs, Crystal Rumore, and her mom, Connie Garcia, are from New Orleans, but promise they will try to watch the hot pepper content. "For those who can't handle the heat, there will be a non-spicy but flavorful batch," according to a flier for the event. The meal will include corn bread, a drink and homemade desserts for $5. Central office is located at 152 E. Martin Luther King Blvd.

HARRODSBURG - Trudy McRae recently was involved in the construction of a meal, but as a supporter of Mercer County's Habitat for Humanity, she knows what it takes to build a house as well. Her reason for helping prepare a meal was to celebrate the 15th year of the organization. Many of the people involved recently gathered at Harrodsburg United Methodist Church to enjoy a meal that included McRae's Wild Side Dish, and Howard Nichols fresh-baked bread. Nichols has been making rolls for the dinners for many years and his recipe is in a cookbook the organization sells.

Lucy McGrath, left, Kaitlyn Boldt, center, and Alyssa Dodson, right, serve food at the Knights of Columbus annual Lenten Fish Fry in the gymnasium of St. Joseph Catholic Church. Hundreds of patrons gathered for the meal in the gymansium of St. Joseph Catholic Church, while others used the drive-through service to take a meal home.

Dear Editor, Thanks to a wonderful group of students from Centre College recently, the seniors at the senior citizens center enjoyed a delicious meal and a lot of companionship. The students in the Bonner Program came, furnished and cooked the meal and served the seniors. The meal was well prepared and very much appreciated by the seniors at the center. I feel very fortunate to have such a group of young men and ladies in our area. Good job. Vi WilmotBoard Member, Boyle County Senior Citizens Center

The Harrodsburg football team awards ceremony will be Sunday at 5 p.m. in the high school auditorium. A meal will be served before the awards ceremony.

Health care providers at Ertel Medicine and Pediatrics know all too well the statistics about obesity in America. They know the statistics, and they know the people who are suffering from a myriad of health problems because of their weight. In September, Dr. Larry Ertel felt it was time to do something to better serve his patients. He and wife, Gina Lang, attended Obesity Summit 2011 at the Cleveland Clinic to learn the latest research on fighting obesity. “We learned that meal replacements, over 10 years, show the greatest maintenance,” Lang said.

The 1958 McKinney High School Class will hold its 50 year class reunion on Saturday, May 24 at 6 p.m. at the McKinney Depot Restaurant banquet room. The cost of the meal is $16 which includes the meal, dessert, drinks, and tip. If you would like to skip the meal, just stop by and visit for awhile. Anyone who was in this class at anytime from first through 12th grade, is invited to come and see some classmates you haven't seen for 50 years. Will you know them? Will they know you?

A field day at the Glen Devine farm on Ky. 1160 will be held from 4-7 p.m. Sept. 25. The meal will be about 6 p.m. Call (859) 734-6889 for meal reservations. An ag/city breakfast will be held at 7:30 a.m. Oct. 23 at Lions Park Community Center. The event is co-sponsored with Mercer County Extension Service, Farm Bureau, and Chamber of Commerce. Tickets are $3 and can be purchased from all four sponsors at a later date.

FRANKFORT - This summer, thanks to the Lincoln County Public Library's Fueling the Mind program, children will enrich their bodies while preventing summer learning loss. The Fueling the Mind initiative expands the Summer Reading program through collaboration with the Kentucky Department of Education's Summer Food Service Program, public libraries and many community partners. The goal of Fueling the Mind is to provide free meals during the 2013 summer break along with literacy programming to keep at-risk, school-age children, ages 18 and younger, nourished, reading and learning all summer.

STANFORD - Lincoln County's Board of Education has voted unanimously to expand a federal free meals program to include more than half of the district's students. As a result, students at the sixth-grade level or lower and all students at Fort Logan will get free school meals next year. The expansion of the federal "Community Eligibility Option" program means 898 students who would have paid full or reduced price next year will get their meals for free instead, said Ronnie Deatherage, the district's chief deputy of quality support.

THURSDAY - The Jessamine County Senior Center will host a “Seniorcise” fitness program for adults 60 years of age and older. The 10-week session will run on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10-11 a.m. and started April 23. The center is located at 111 Hover Drive. For more information, call 859-885-9102. - The Wilmore Senior Community Center will host the Body Recall: Fitness for Life program each Thursday in May at 11 a.m. - The Nursing Home Ombudsman Agency, located at 1530 Nicholasville Road in Lexington, will host its meeting Thursday, May 16, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the Jessamine County Historical Society, located in the Farmer's Square in downtown Nicholasville.

STANFORD - Every Lincoln County student from preschool through sixth grade could be eating breakfast and lunch for free next year if the board of education approves a plan to expand a federal free-meals program. The district can provide the free meals but pay little or nothing out of its own funds if it takes advantage of a federal program called the Community Eligibility Option, said Ronnie Deatherage, chief deputy of quality support. The district began using the program on a trial basis at Fort Logan and three elementary schools - Waynesburg, Crab Orchard and Stanford - this year.

THURSDAY - The Wilmore Senior Center will host “Body Recall: Fitness for Life” each Thursday in April at 11 a.m. - U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie's regional chief of staff will be available to meet and greet residents at the Wilmore Senior Center from 10-11 a.m. - “Asbury University Masterworks Series” will be featured at the Wilmore Senior Center at 3:30 p.m. - The Jessamine County Public Library will host the Star Wars Fan Week...

STANFORD - Christmas came a few days early for hundreds of low-income Lincoln County children and their families who attended this year's Winterfest on Friday at Lincoln County High School. After a year of fundraising and working with teachers to identify students who could benefit the most from a little extra Christmas joy, it was time to continue the decades-old tradition in Lincoln County of feeding the kids and their families and handing out Christmas gifts. Winterfest Committee Chairwoman Kendra Mitchell said this year, 235 children and their families were invited to Winterfest.

Part of the pleasure of the Thanksgiving meal, or any other holiday meal for that matter, is having leftovers. Leftover turkey and other dishes mean you can have more tasty meals the day after your feast. But keep in mind there are limits on how long you can safely keep leftovers. When heating and storing leftovers keep the following in mind: - Refrigerate cooked leftovers promptly within two hours. - Divide leftovers into smaller portions and store in shallow containers in the refrigerator.

For some, having a traditional Thanksgiving dinner is not an option, either because they cannot afford it or they have no one with whom to celebrate. A group of volunteers from area churches and organizations has been striving to change that. The eighth annual serving of the meal to the community will be 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday at Lexington Avenue Baptist Church. The brainchild of two friends, Doris Cessna and MaryAnn Teater, the Community Thanksgiving began with the help of their respective churches, Lexington Avenue Baptist and Calvary Baptist, after the two women felt led to use their Thanksgiving to serve others.

When school starts Aug. 9, students are going to notice a few changes in their school lunches after new federal nutrition guidelines go into effect. Under the USDA's Healthy Hunger Free Act, which is aimed at addressing the nation's obesity problem,  schools now must not only meet strict minimum calorie guidelines, but also for the first time, must meet strict maximum calorie guidelines for their lunch offerings. The new guidelines set maximum calorie counts for whole grains, proteins and sugars, as well as requiring more green, red and orange fruits and vegetables per meal.

Reunion Garrard County High School Classes of 1985-87 will have a reunion 8 p.m. July 21 at Tom Baker's home (Baker Construction) on U.S. 27, Lancaster. The event is free, but donations will be accepted to pay for the use of the building. A potluck meal will be served; bring food and drinks to share.